the select guest

Featured 9.11-9.17.17 | In this week's installment of the most insanely talented women I've ever come across, I'd like to introduce you to Billie Whitehouse, fashion designer (she refers to herself as a "garment engineer," actually, which is just everything) and creator of the more-than-just-athleisure brand, Wearable X, which Fast Company deemed one of the most innovative fitness companies ever. In fact the Aussie-born bombshell became CEO at the age of 26 (when, coincidentally she also ice climbed an active volcano in Iceland), and has been compared to some of the greatest business people of our time (oh, hey, Elon Musk + Steve Jobs). The victory has been her ability to create a fashion tech company that brings design and technology together. The consumer arm of the company, Nadi X, took two years to develop because it's just that cool: a line of activated yoga apparel that listens and responds to your body, guiding you through your yoga flow. How you ask? Well, it sounds complicated, but basically it uses embedded technology to provide vibrational feedback around the hips, knees and ankles, thus ensuring that your yoga poses are perfect. How genius is that? Almost as genius as her selects. Welcome to Billie's week.

I'm fortunate enough to travel quite a bit for work. While this doesn't always feel like "real" travel as you often don't get the time you want in a city to truly take it in, I do my best to take advantage of any journey I get to go on. My favorite hotel in the world is in Paris: Le Royal Monceau (37 Avenue Hoche, 75008 Paris). It was redone by Phillipe Starck and is eccentric with a great a sense of humor.

I don't necessarily have a favorite destination, although I have the most fond memories either swimming in the ocean or on top of a mountain. I remember finding myself in the hills way, way behind Florence near the Torre del Gallo. It's not a popular place for tourists because it's a rather challenging hill to climb, but I would sit at the top with my best friend and it felt like the most magical place in the world.

I am a proud supporter of my fellow female entrepreneurs and so most certainly use Away luggage and I always recommend starting every trip with a run or walk around the city, village or area. It gives you perspective and it helps avoid jetlag.

more about billie

Billie Whitehouse is the CEO, designer and director of Wearable X. Billie was once compared to Elon Musk in Business Insider because of her specialization in the combination of hardware, soft-ware and apparel for wearable technology products. Known for her development of Nadi X and Fan Jersey recently presented at Super Bowl 50, Billie is invigorating the fashion industry and transforming it into a business focused on improving the quality of our lives.Billie is an aesthetic specialist with a naturally inquisitive nature towards technology and innovation. As a garment engineer she strongly believes people should not have to look like the technology that they have grown to love and depend on. Billie’s designs are sharp, experimental, naturally confident and subtly feminine in appearance integrated with the latest technology.Business Insider recently named Billie one of the 30 most important women under 30 in tech and she was named in the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. The high- light for Billie in 2017 was being named one of the Most Innovative Companies in Fitness by Fast Co. Forbes recently compared Billie and her co-founder Ben Moir to Steve Jobs and Jerry Seinfeld.Billie is a renowned keynote speaker with presentations stretching from the The New Yorker Tech Fest 2016, Fortune’s Elevate 2016, Wired UK 2015, Cannes Lions 2015/2016,, Conde Nast Digital Russia 2016, India Fashion Forum 2016 and many more.

The Select 7

A curated exploration into the worlds of travel, food, beauty + wellness, fashion, home design and charity by some of the most interesting people out there. The Select 7 unlocks the worlds of today’s top tastemakers, acting as an an exchange hub for people who want both the aspirational and the totally obtainable to share their finds, recommendations and ideas.

TopSelects

A curated exploration into the worlds of travel, food, beauty + wellness, fashion, home design and charity by some of the most interesting people out there. The Select 7 unlocks the worlds of today’s top tastemakers, acting as an exchange hub for people who want both the aspirational and the totally obtainable to share their finds, recommendations and ideas.